Cimas CEO Mac Chaora retires

Cimas Medical Aid Society group chief executive Mac Chaora will be leaving Cimas at the end of the year, after more than 17 years at the helm of Zimbabwe's oldest private sector medical aid society.

He will be succeeded by Cimas group chief operations executive Vulindlela Ndlovu, who joined Cimas two years ago as group finance executive.

Announcing his retirement, Mr Chaora expressed his appreciation for the support he had received during his term of office from the Cimas board and members of the senior management team.

"I would like to express my appreciation for the support I have received from my senior management team and from the board of Cimas, as well as for the hard work of all Cimas employees, who collectively have enabled us to provide our members with a wide range of quality health services and medical aid packages," he said.

Mr Chaora joined Cimas 26 years ago in May 1989 as operations manager. He was appointed medical aid manager, heading the medical aid division, in February the following year. He was appointed deputy chief executive in 1997 after undergoing a senior management course at Harvard University in the United States. He was appointed group chief executive in November 1998.

Under his leadership Cimas has expanded considerably the services it provides. This includes the establishment in 1999 of the Harare Haemodialysis centre, in a joint venture with Gambro of Sweden, at a time when there was a shortage of dialysis facilities in the country. In another joint venture, Cimas opened a chemotherapy unit at St Clement's Clinic in Harare.

In 2003 Cimas set up Healthguard International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cimas dedicated to giving members access to international health services.

Mr Chaora's term of office saw Cimas establishing clinics throughout the country. The first was the  Rowland Square Clinic in Harare's Milton Park suburb in May 2005. There are now nine Cimas clinics spread across the country, including one in Harare  that is open 24 hours a day every day.

Mr Chaora faced the challenging task, together with his senior management team, of steering the society through the difficult years of hyperinflation and the switch to multicurrency trading.

Expressing his appreciation  for the role Mr Chaora has played, Cimas chairman Mordecai Mahlangu said his leadership and vision had seen the society retain its position as the country's leading medical aid society.

 "Under Mr Chaora's leadership, Cimas has expanded its operations to meet the changing needs of its members, ensuring that they have access to affordable health care. I  would like to express my appreciation  for the dedication and hard work he has put into making Cimas what it is today and wish him well in his retirement and future endeavours," he said.

"I have every confidence that Mr Ndlovu, who is taking over from him, will continue the good work that has been done and ensure that Cimas continues to provide the high standards of service to which our members have become accustomed," he said.

Before joining Cimas, Mr Ndlovu was with Lufuno Capital Partners, where he worked on private equity and consulting assignments in Africa. He also worked with Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) in promoting the SEAF Global Vintage Flexible Fund.

Prior to that he was BancABC Zimbabwe Managing Director. He is a former partner at KPMG Zimbabwe. He started the KPMG Corporate Finance practice in Zimbabwe in 1997.

A chartered accountant who holds a Bachelor of Accountancy degree, Mr Ndlovu is a past  president and past council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe.